obama is sticking to his guns. and congressional democrats, like house minority leader nancy pelosi, welcomed the president's plan. >> elections have consequences. the president campaigned-- he made it very clear, he made it very clear that he was supporting a tax cut for the middle class, that he wanted the expiration of the tax cuts for the high end. and the american people know that debate, they voted for him. >> warner: still, despite all the tough talk, reporter todd zwillich of wnyc and public radio international says there's more movement behind the scenes than meets the eye. >> there does tend to be a pattern to how big negotiations like this go. the fact that they haven't reached an agreement yet doesn't mean they won't before christmas, doesn't mean they won't before new years. there is a value in doing some public posturing and trying to get the public and the media on your side in these negotiations. the speaker may be right, it may be a stalemate right now. but that doesn't mean a stalemate can't be br